Leigh believes that when design is done well it should solve wicked problems, change existing situations into more desirable ones and help people accomplish either their individual or collective purposes.
She is an experienced design professional with exceptional skills in facilitation, information design, design thinking, design research and business transformation, for clients in the health, social services, defence and financial securities sectors. She enjoys bringing participants on the design journey to see what challenges look like from their perspectives. Leigh is a conceptual thinker and works with complex content to create compelling deliverables for senior audiences.
Leigh excelled as a tertiary design lecturer, including develop a new Master of Design Thinking program. Leigh was selected as a Fulbright Scholar – a prestigious award that recognise academic excellence and ambassadorial ability – which she spent at the world-leading design school, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, USA.
Leigh’s research portfolio demonstrates an obvious interest in helping others. She has worked with Regional Health Departments in New Zealand exploring food security, barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption and exploring alcohol consumption in adolescence.
Prior to joining ThinkPlace, Leigh was awarded her Bachelor of Design and Visual Communications at Christchurch Polytechnic, before studying a Master of Art & Design at Auckland University of Technology in 2011.